Elizabeth Warren draws massive crowd at Simpson

Hundreds of people came to see Elizabeth Warren in Hubbell Hall on Sunday at Simpson, causing Kent Campus Center to reach full capacity.

Hubbell was so full that people were stuck on the first floor of Kent, just one day out from the Iowa caucuses. Because of this, Warren gave a speech on both floors.

Photo by Peyton Busch

Daniel Estrada, a junior at Simpson College helped introduced Warren.

“I chose Elizabeth Warren because she embodies those sentiments,” Estrada said. “She lives the values I grew up with.”

Warren spoke with power and generosity. She shared her ideas about how to combat climate change, big businesses and pharmaceuticals.

Warren also thanked her competitors for running for the presidential nomination.

“Here’s the thing,” Warren said, “we may have had some different ideas. We may have had some different ways of going about it. But in the end we have one goal and we better come together to meet that goal. We are going to beat Donald Trump.”

Warren then opened up the floor for questions.

One of the Australian students visiting Simpson asked what Warren would do about climate change in the wake of Australia’s fires.

“I’m going to say something that is quite controversial in Washington, but I feel safe here in Indianola to say this,” Warren said. “I believe in science. Climate change threatens every living thing on our planet.”

Warren continued talking about her plans to help solve climate change.

“We must save our planet, and to do that, it means that we must take our government back for those who would run it for their own private profit,” Warren said.

Another question was asked about how people can find hope when people are worried about climate change and losing their health care.

Warren saved this question for the end of her speech.

“People are scared,” Warren replied. “They are scared for women, people of color, for LGBTQ people, for trans peoples, all of the rights are up for grabs in this United States Supreme Court. They are scared for our nation, they are scared for our planet and the danger is real. Our democracy hangs in the balance. So you have a choice to make.”

Jayden Mitts, a sophomore at Simpson, thought Warren spoke well during her speech.

“I thought it was really empowering,” Mitts said. “Just the general energy she had. She was confident in herself and I really like that. She wasn’t dodgy with any questions.”

Mitts said he was going to caucus for Warren on Feb. 3.

Warren had to leave to get to another event, but left her dog, Bailey, behind for the selfie line. People were excited to see Bailey as he looked eager for the photo opportunities.